Machine for securing wire fasteners to boxes



April 26, 1960 E. A. STROLLIS MACHINE FOR SECURING WIRE FASTENERS T0BOXES Filed Dec. 6, 1957 8 Sheets-She'et 1 INVBNTOR. EDWARD A. STROLLIS.n'romer fl April 1960 E. A. STROLLIS 2,933,733

MACHINE FOR SECURING WIRE FASTENERS T0 BOXES Filed Dec. 6, 1957 8Sheets-Sheet 2 v INVENT OR. EDWARD A. STROLL/S 4T TORNEY A ril 26, 1960E. A. STROLLIS MACHINE FOR SECURING WIRE FASTENERS TO BOXES Filed D80.6, 1957 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. EDWARDA. STROLLIS ATTORNEY April 26,1969 E. A. STROLLIS 2,933,733 MACHINE FOR SECURING WIRE FASTENERS TOBOXES I Filed Dec. 6. 1957 s Sheets-Sheet 4 I I I l l I l i J 1' b i RLE i i o. i

INVENTOR. l 504mm A. STROLLIS ATTORNEY MACHINE FOR SECURING WIREFASTENERS 'ro BOXES Filed Dec. 6, 195'? April 26, 1960 E. A. STROLLIS 8Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. EDWARD A. STROLL/S A TTORIVE Y April 26, 1960E. A. STROLLIS 2,933,733

MACHINE FOR SECURING WIRE FASTENERS 'ro BOXES Filed Dec. 6, 1957 8Sheets-Sheet 6 ATTORNE Y W April 26, 1960 E. A. STROLLIS 2,933,733

MACHINE FOR SECURING WIRE FASTENERS TO BOXES Filed Dec. 6, 1957 8Sheets-Sheet 7 I i F g l i 39 i i i i i i 1 4;

INV ENT OR. EDWARD A. STROLL/S ATTORNEY 6 j April 26, 1960 E. A.STROLLIS MACHINE FOR SECURING WIRE FASTENERS TO BOXES Filed Dec. 5, 19578 Sheets-Sheet 8 INVENTOR. EDWARD A. STROLL/S' ATTORNEY MACHINE FOR SECGWIRE FASTENERS TO BOXES Edward A. fitrollis, Webster, N.Y., assignor toKemp Equipment Company, Rochester, N.Y., a corporation of New York App aD r S rial. No. 701.9 6

13 Claims. or. 1-95) of the box, and then bending the free portions ofthe clips over to secure the two halves of the box together.

Machines for fastening clips to pasteboard boxes, as previously built,have been complex, bulky, and uncertain of operation. They have beenexpensive, difficult to repair, and difficult to maintain insatisfactory operating condition. The result has been that instead ofusing inexpensive wire clips for fastening the halves of a box together,in most cases flat strap-metal clips are employed, despite the fact thatin themselves the fiat clips are more expensive than the wire clips.

One object of the present invention is to provide a machine of thecharacter described that will operate accurately, day in and day out, atvery high speeds.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a machine forsecuring wire clips to boxes and the like that is of simplified, compactconstruction.

A related object of the invention'is to provide a machine of thecharacter described that will be more economical to maintain andservice, and that will require a smaller inventory of replacement parts,than is true of machines currently available.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in theart from the following description, particularly when read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, a machine is shown foraflixing wire clips to boxes that will operate at high speeds,accurately and repetitively to perform the successive operations offeeding and cutting wire to the proper length, shaping the cut length ofwire to form a U-shaped staple, driving the legs of the staple throughthe side of the bottom section of a box, bending the staple so that itsbight or loop will project above the top edge of the box section, andclinching the legs in the box section.

The machine is designed to perform these operations at high speed,sequentially, with a minimum number of moving parts. The machine has asingle rotary camshaft that has a plurality of cams mounted inaxiallyaligned relation thereon to control the operations of themachine. 7

A suitable, measured length of wire is first fed into place. Then aslide, which carries a cut oil? tool and a former, is moved forwardlyaxially of the camshaft, and transversely of the length of wire, by oneof the cams on the rotating camshaft. The cut-off tool cooperates with arelatively fixed bushing through which the wire is fed to cut Qfi a s itl n h oi. w n then the t ms: in the continued forward movement of theslide conited States Patent 2,933,733 Patent d Anr- 26, 19 0 2. operateswith a forming plug, which is at the time in relatively fixed position,to shape the wire into generally U-shaped staple form with a shoulderformed in each leg of the U intermediate the ends of the leg. Then aninverted box section is brought into position; and the slide and formingplug are moved forward axially together independently ofthe slide todrive the free ends of the staple through a side of the box apredetermined distance, leaving the bight and parts of the legs at theoutside of the box and the other parts of the legs at the inside of thebox. Then the forming plug is rocked downwardly out of the way by a camon the rotating camshaft; and the slide and the forming plug are thenreturned to their original axial positions axially of the camshaft. Thena cam-operatedanvil is moved upwardly to support the free ends of thestaple which project through the inside of the box, and a bending head,also cam-operated, is moved downwardly to cooperate with an anvil, tobend the free ends of the staple at a point spaced inwardly from theinside of the box toward the top edge of the inverted box. Then theanvil is withdrawn by its cam from operative position; and the bendinghead, continuing to move downwardly, makes a second bend in the inwardlyprojecting free ends of the staple about fulcrurns at the points wherethe staple punctures the wall of the box. This bends the inside portionsof the legs of the staple flat against the inside wall of the box andthereby forces the free ends of the staple over the top edge of theinvented box so that they now project beyond the outside wall of thebox. Then a sweep arm bends the bight'portion of the staple and theparts of its legs adjacent thereto downwardly to fold these parts flatagainst the outside wall of the box. Then a pair of cam-operatedclincher arms bend the outwardly projecting extreme free ends of thestaple upwardly over the shoulders and toward one another, therebyclinching the staple to the box. The operation is thereupon complete;and the box section can be reversed in the machine to permit fixing astaple in its opposite'end, or can be removed from the machine to permitoperation on another box section.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing fragmentarily a part of re machine andillustrating the first step of feeding a length of wire into position; i

Fig. 2 is a-plan view of the same parts, but showing the slide movedforward to cut off the length of wire and to initially shape the staple;a

Fig. 3'is a plan view showing these parts in a sue ceeding position inwhich the staple has been driven through the wall of a box, the boxitself being shown fragmentarily in section and the pivoted anvils whichcooperate with the bending head for bending the staple also being shownfragmentarily;

Fig. 4 is a partial side elevation of the parts in the position shown inFig. 3 but showing the bending head about to begin its operation;

Fig. 5 is an elevation from inside the box, showing the same parts andin the same relative positions as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the anvilsbeing shown, however, in fullg Fig. 6 is a plan view showing the partsat another stage ofthe operation where the forming plug has dropped outof the way, and returned to a position, shown in dotted lines, justbelow. its starting position; Fig. 7 is a plan view showing the slidewithdrawn and the forming plug back at its starting position;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view, showing partly in side elevation andpartly in section the position of the bendins h ad l n hat of 4 and ho ne o mng aunt g n in oper t e p t on. t f e nds of "the staple being atthis stage bent at a right angle to 3 the plane ofthe legs of thestaple, and parallel to the adjacent wall of the box;

Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the same parts at the beginning of thenext bending step;

Fig. 10 is an elevation looking from inside the box but with the boxremoved, showing a succeeding step with the anvils pivoted apart awayfrom one another;

Fig. 1 1 is a side elevation showing the next position of the bendinghead and forming arms and the corresponding position of the staple, theclinching arms being shown fragmentarily ready to begin operation;

Fig. 12 is a front elevation showing the clincher arms at the completionof the clinching operation, the free ends of the staple being now bentdiagonally and clinched over the top edge of the inverted box and overthe off set portions of the staple legs;

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary plan view of a box clip machine constructedaccording to one embodiment of the invention, with the forming armsomitted, the better to illustrate the remainder of the machine; I

Fig. 14 is a transverse section taken on the line 14-14 of Fig. 13,looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 15 is a longitudinal section of the machine, looking at the machinefrom the right side of Fig. 13;

Fig. 16 is a perspective view of the inner slide and plunger;

Fig. 17 is a section taken on the line 17--17 of Fig. 15, looking in thedirection of the arrows;

Fig. 18 is a part elevation, taken from the left side of the machine inFig. l3, showing particularly the detail of the forming arm and itsmounting;

Fig. 19 is a fragmentary plan view thereof;

Fig. 20 is a section transverse to the axis of the camshaft, and showingthe forming arm in front elevation;

Fig. 21 is a section taken at the same point along the camshaft as Fig.20, but looking in the opposite direction, and with the camshaft in adifierent position;

Fig. 22 is a top plan view of parts shown in Fig. 21;

Fig. 23 is a bottom plan view thereof;

Fig. 24 is a section taken on the line 24-24 of Fig. 15, looking in thedirection of the arrows; and

Fig. 25 is a perspective view of the box with the Wire clips in place.

The particular embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings has abase (Fig. 13) on. which the other parts of the machine are mounted. Awire feeding device (Figs. 13 and 14 is mounted on the base 39, to feedwire to the machine. This wire feeding device comprises a carriage 32that is mounted-on wheels 33 for reciprocatoly movement on the base 30between parallel guidewalls 34, which project above base 31) and whichare secured to or are integral with base 30. The carriage is heldagainst lifting off the base 313 by gibs 38 which are secured to theguidewalls by screws 38. A conventional type of one-way feed member 35is pivotally mounted by means of pin 26 on an arm 27 of the carriage 32.Provision is made to feed straight wire W to the feed member 35 in anydesired manner, as for example, from a reel and conventional wirestraighteningdevice, not shown in the drawings. The wire passes over theupper flat surface of the carriage 32 and is gripped by the cam-likegripping surface at the lower end of member 35 during travel of thecarriage 32 to the right, but the spring 20, which is interposed betweenthe feed member 35 and a block 29 on the carriage, permits the feedmember 35 to rock about its pivot and to slide on the wire as thecarriage 32 is returned to the left. A spring 37 connects the carriage32 and the base 31}, constantly to urge the carriage to the left.

A bushing 36, which is mounted in a block 36 on a guide rail 39 abovethe base 30 and which is formed with a bore having a diameter on thesame order as the diameter of the wire, receives the wire fed by thefeed member 35, and insures that the wire is absolutely straight as itenters the shaping part of the machine.

The base 30 is formed with a slot 31 (Fig. 14) that extends lengthwiseof the machine. A main slide 40 is mounted to reciprocate on the base 30in a direction at right angles to the direction of movement of wire feedcarriage 32. The slide 40 travels in the slot 31 and is guided in itsmovement by parallel spaced guide rails 39 of which one carries theblock 36 mentioned above. The guide rails 39 also act as gibs to holdcarriage 40 down on the base.

A secondary slide 41 (Figs. 13, 15 and 16) is mounted to slide a guideslot 141 (Fig. 14) on the main slide 411. This secondary slide is heldin placeand guided by the spaced, parallel, gib-like portions which aremounted on the slide 441 and which bound the slot 141.

As best shown in Figs. 13 and 16, a stop plate 48 is secured by a screw48 transversely across the top of the secondary slide 41, with its endsprojecting beyond the sides of the auxiliary slide into a transverseslot 49 that is formed in the upper surface of the main slide 40. Slot45 is wider from front to back than stop plate 48; and stop plate 48 isadapted to abut against the front and back walls of slot 49 to limitrelative movement between the two slides.

A plunger 44 is detachably secured on the slide 41 by a screw 44 thatpasses through an aperture in the plunger 44, which is of slightlylarger diameter than the shank of the screw, to permit a small amount ofmovement of the plunger relative to slide 41 to compensate for smallvariations in the diameter of the feed wire. Plunger 44 slides in guides42 which are secured by screws 142 to gib portions 140. The front endface of the plunger 44 constitutes a female die adapted to receive andshape the wire as a staple. To this end it is formed with a loop portion45, and with a pair of opposed shoulders 46.

The gib portions 146 that are mounted on the main slide 43 are formedwith grooves along their forward edges, as denoted at 43 (Figs. 1, 2, 3and 13), and so are the guide plates 42, as denoted at 143, to receivethe wire fed from bushing 36. The grooves 143 in the guide plates 42extend not only across the front faces of these plates in alignment withthe grooves 43 of gib portions 140, but also along the confronting sideedges of these plates. These confronting grooves 143 in the side edgesof the plates 42 serve not only to receive the wire after it is bent,but also as guideways for the plunger 44. This plunger, as shown in Fig.16, has guide portions 144 at its sides which engage in the grooves 143in the guide plates 42.

A male forming plug 47 is secured by a screw 47 to a slide 93 (Fig. 15).The forming plug 47 is disposed to cooperate with the female die portionof the plunger 44 to shape a cut length of wire W, Fig. 1, as a stapleS, Fig. 3, having a bight or loop portion, a pair of legs, and an offsetshoulder on each leg adjacent the loop portion.

A clamping member 50 (Fig. 13), which is J-shaped in plan and U-shapedin cross-section, is secured to one of the guide portions 140 of theslide 40. The long arm of this member has a transverse face 51 that actsas a cutting edge and cooperates with the wire feed bushing 36, to cutthe wire upon forward movement of the main slide 40. The shorter arm ofthe J-shaped member 59 has a transverse face 52 that is disposed toenter a slot 136 in block 36' and bushing 36 to clamp the cut end of thewire stock W in the bushing 36 when the main slide 40 is at the limit ofits forward movement, thereby to hold the feed wire in the bushing 36when the carriage 32 is returned to its original position.

A sweep arm 53 (Figs. 15, 18, 19 and 20) is mounted for pivotal movementon pivot pins 54 that are secured in the guide walls 39 (Fig. 13). Thesweep arm straddles both slides 40, 44 (Fig. 20). It has a head 153 ofgenerally triangular shape secured to it by a screw 153,

with the base of the triangle facing downwardlyg'asshown in Figs. 12 and18.

A block 55 (Figs. 18, 13, 21, 22, 24) is mounted on the base 30 at thefront end of the machine. The box section B, into which the staple is tobe inserted, is seated against this block to aflix the wire clip to thebox section. The block 55 forms a support on which a bending head 56(Figs. 4, 8, 9, 11), anvil arms 57 (Fig. and clincher arms 60 (Fig. 21)are movably mounted.

Referring to Figs. 15 and 22 in particular, the bending head 56 issecured by a screw 56', to a vertical slide 68 that is mounted forreciprocatory movement in a vertical slot 79 in the front of the block55. A cover plate 58 is secured along its edges tothe block 55 to retainthe slide 68 in the slot 79. The bending head 56 is formed with adownwardly depending pair of arms 62that are mounted to make a firstbend in the free ends of the staple (Fig. 4). These arms haveprojections 63 thereon that are disposed to further bend the free endsof the staple as shown in Figs, 8 and 9. The block 55 is also formedwith a recess 89. A pair of anvils 57 are pivotally mounted by means ofpins 57 (Figs. 5 and 24) in these recesses. A pair of springs 59 (Fig.24) are interposed between the anvils and the walls of the re cesses 89,constantly to urge the anvils to pivot toward each other. A guide block69 (Fig. 5), which is secured to the block 55 by a screw 69 (Figs. 3, 6,7, and 22), is adapted to limit the pivotal movement of the anvils '57toward each other.

As shown in Fig. 5, each anvil 57 is provided at its upper end with anotch 64 in which a free end of the staple S can be received. The anvils57 are each also formed with opposed, inwardly inclined surfaces 65,that are disposed to be engaged by the projections 63 of arm 62 as thearms move downwardly, to pivot the two anvils apart.

Clincher arms 60 (Figs. 11, 12 and 21) are mounted in slots in the block55 for limited reciprocatory move, ment, to. operate after the staplehas been bent to the position shown in Fig. 11 to bend the free ends ofthe staple over the offset portions in the staple as shown in Figs. 25and 12. Each clincher arm is formed with a finger 113 that is integralwith a rocker arm 114 (Fig. 11). Each rocker arm 114 is pivotallymounted in the associated clincher arm 60 on a pin 115. Each rocker armis formed with a tail portion 116 that ex? tends along one side face ofthe associated clincher arm. A spring 117 is interposed between eachclincher arm and the associated tail portion 116, constantly to urge therocker arm in one direction about its pivot. Pivotal movement of eachrocker arm in the opposite direction is limited by tail 1 16.

Referring now to Figs. 13, 15, and 17, there is a rotary camshaft 66journalled on base 30 in spaced bearing blocks, one of which is denoted,at 122. A cam 67' is keyed to the rear end of camshaft 66. This cam 90-.operates with a roller or follower 123 to oscillate a lever 70 which inturn actuates the wire feed slide 32. Lever 70 (Fig. 13) is mounted topivot in a horizontal plane about a pin 71 that is secured in the base30. A roller 72 is mounted at one end of the lever 70 to engage againstthe left hand end of the carriage 32. The opposite end of the lever 70is formed with an offsetportion 170 that is connected by a pin 73' andlink 73 with a reciprocatory slide 74 thEltIiS mounted to slide in aguideway in the bearing block 122. Roller 123 is mounted at the end ofthe slide 74 to engageagainst the surface 1 of the cam 67.

Keyed to the cam shaft 66 at the opposite side of bearing 122 from cam67 is a barrel cam 76. A thrust bearing 75 is mounted on the camshaft 66between this cam 76 and the bearing 122. The barrel cam 76 effectsreciprocation of main slide 40 as the cam shaft 66 rotates. It is formedwith a groove 77. A cam follower- 80, that is secured inth'emain slide40, is engaged in this groove 77.

A segmental face cam 81 (Figs. 15 and 17) is mounted on the rear face ofthe barrel cam 76, being secured thereto by a screw 81'. This cameffects reciprocation of secondary slide 41 during the rotation of shaft66. A. lever 82 is pivotally mounted by means of pin 82' on the rear endof the slide 40. A roller 83 mounted on the upper end of the lever 82 isengaged against the rear end of the secondary slide 41. A roller orfollower 84 is rotatably mounted on a pin 85 in the lower end of thelever 82. The roller 84 is mounted so that it will engage the segmentalface cam 81 when the slide 40 has been moved far enough forward bybarrel cam 76, thereby causing the secondary slide 41 to move relativeto main slide 40 in the continued rotation of cam shaft 66.

A rotary cam is also keyed on the shaft 66 forward of the barrel cam 76;and a face cam 86 is secured to the rear face of the rotary cam 90 by aplurality of screws 91. These two. cams control the rocking movement ofthe sweep arm 53 and the up and down movement of the slide 93, whichcarries former 47, respectively.

The sweep arm 53 has a downwardly depending leg 87 (Figs. 15, 18 and20). A roller 88 is rotatably mounted at the end of the leg 87. Thisroller is disposed to engage against the face cam 86, so that the sweeparm is rocked about its pivots at the proper time in the rotation of camshaft 66. A spring 191 (Fig. 15), which connects leg 87 with slide 40,serves to. hold roller 38 against cam 86..

The cam 99 engages the roller 92, which is rotatably mounted on the stud189 threaded in vertical slide 93.

The slide 93 is mounted to slide vertically in a channel between a pairof gibs 99 that are fastened by screws 99' to a block 98. A spring 116is interposed between the block 98 and the slide 93, constantly to urgecam follower 92 into engagement with cam 90. The cam 90 is formed toraise and lower slide 93 and the forming plug 47 at the proper times inthe cycle of operation of the machine; and itis provided with asegmental face cam portion 190 which also operates to move the slide 93,the forming plug 47, and the block 98, forward and rearward, axially ofthe camshaft, at the proper times in the machine cycie. This cam portion199 has a plane shoulder surface portion 192 lying in a plane at rightangles to the axis of shaft 66; and it has inclined surfaces at bothends of this shoulder surface, one of which is denoted at 193 in Fig.15. When the roller 92 is riding on cam 99 against surface 192, slide 93is held in the position shown in Fig. 15. As shaft 66 rotates, surface193 will come into registry with roller 92 and slide 93 will moveforward. When cam 90 and shaft 66 have rotated far enough for thesloping surface (corresponding to surface 193) at the other end of camsegment 199 to come into engagement with roller 92, slide 93 and block98 will be moved back again to the position shown in Fig. 15

The slide member 68 is integral with a bifurcated yoke 94 (Figs. 15, 21and 24) which straddles the camshaft 66. A bar 95 is mounted between thefurcations of the yoke 94 at their lower ends. A rotary cam 96 is keyedto the camshaft 66 to engage a roller 97 that is mounted on the yoke bar95. Springs 100, that connect the furcations of the yoke 94 with theblock 55, hold the roller 97 against the surface of the cam 96. The cam96 is formed to effect reciprocation of the bending head 56 at theproper times in the cycle.

The clincher arms 60 are held, respectively, by springs 107 (Fig. 21)against arms 101, 102, respectively. The springs are seated in recessesin block 55 and are interposed between block 55 and lugs on the clincherarms. The arm 101 is pivotally connected by pin 101 at one end to block55, and a roller 103 is mounted at its other end. The arm 102ispivotally connected at one end by pin 102 to block 55, and carries atits other end aroller 105. 'A rotary cam 104, which is keyedto thecamshaft 66, serves to oscillate these arms about their respectivepivots 101', 102 to effect movement of the clincher arms at the requiredtime in the cycle. Cam 104 is formed with two separate cam surfaces,104a and 104b. The roller 103 is mounted to engage the cam surface 104b.The roller 105 rides on the cam surface 104a. The two cam surfaces 104aand 104b of the rotary cam 104 are formed so that the clincher arms 60oscillate simultaneously.

A hand wheel 124 (Fig. 15) is keyed to the camshaft 66 to permit manualoperation of the machine while making any necessary adjustments,repairs, etc.

The machine feeds a predetermined length of wire, shapes the cut lengthof wire into a staple, drives the staple into one wall of the box, andbends the staple to form a clip that is secured in place in the wall ofthe box, once for every revolution of the rotary camshaft 66.Conventional equipment can be used to feed boxes to the machine at thedesired rate. The machine can operate at exceptionally high speeds, thatcan be regulated by adjustment of the rate of rotation of the camshaft66.

In the operation of the machine, as the camshaft 66 starts to rotate,the cam 67 (Figs. 13, 15 and 17) first comes into operation. It actsthrough roller 123, arm 74, link 73, lever 70, and roller 72 to move thecarriage 32 to the right, toward shaft 66 (Figs. 13 and 14), to causethe clamp 35 to grip and feed wire through the bushing 36 into thegroove 43 in the front face of the main slide 40 (Fig. 1).

When the desired length of wire has been fed into the groove 43, thebarrel cam 76 (Fig. 15 will have rotated sufficiently to move the mainslide 40 forward through cam follower 80. The cutting edge 51 (Fig. 13)on the member 50 is thereby carried forward past the bore of the bushing36, to sever the desired length of wire.

Continued forward movement of the main slide 40 en gages the length ofwire W against the forming plug 47, and bends the wire around the plug47, between the plug 47 and the female die portion carried by theplunger 44, as shown in Fig. 2. Thus, the cut-off length of wire is bentout of the grooves 43 in the front face of slide 40 and forced into thegrooves 143 (Fig. 1) along the guide portions of plates 42. The bight200, the shoulders 201, and leg portions 202, illustrated in Fig. 7, arethus formed in the cut-off length of wire.

As the main slide 40 moves forward it also brings the clamping surface52 of member 50 into engagement with the wire remaining in the bushing36 to hold this wire against being retracted when the slide 32 (Fig. 13)returns to original position as roller 123 (Fig. 17) rides off the lobeof cam 67.

During formation of the staple with the loop portion 200, shoulders 201and legs 202 as described above and as shown in Fig. 7, the forming plug47 is held against movement because the front face of roller 92 isriding against the plane face 192 (Fig. 15) of cam segment 190 andbecause the periphery of the roller 92 is riding on a dwell portion ofthe cam 90, that is, a portion which is at a constant distance from theaxis of shaft 66.

As the main slide 40 moves forward the secondary slide 41 remainsstationary, and the stop plate 48 slides in the groove 49 in the mainslide, until stop plate 48 engages against the rear wall of this slot.Then secondary slide 41 and the plunger 44 move forward with slide 40 inthe continued movement of slide 40.

As the slide 40 continues to move forward, carrying with it secondaryslide 41 and plunger 44, lever 82 (Fig. 15 is carried forward to bringits roller 84 into operative relation with cam segment 81. Thereupon, asthe shaft 66 continues to rotate, cam segment 81 rocks lever 82clockwise, as viewed in Fig. 15, about its pivot 82,

causing roller83 to move secondary slide 41 and plunger 44 forwardrelative to main slide 40.

"'At this time, the front face of roller 92 rides off the plane face'192 of cam segment 190 and the slide 93, block 98 and forming plug 47are carried forward also, with the secondary slide and plunger, to drivethe legs of the staple through the confronting wall of the box sectionB. The block 69 (Fig. 3) acts to hold the box section in position fordriving the staple legs therethrough; and at the end of the drivingmovement, the forming plug 47 will abut against the outside of the boxsection as shown in Fig. 3.

When the legs of the staple are driven through the wall of the box, theyproject into the notches 64 of the anvils 57, straddling the guide block69, and projecting beneath the forming head 56, as shown in Figs. 4 and5.

The peripheral surface of the rotary cam 90 is so formed thatimmediately after the legs of staple have been driven through the wallof the box section B, the roller 92 rides onto a low part of the camsurface 90, and drops down, carrying the former 47 down also. At thesame time, the roller 92 rides on the slope of cam segment or cam lobe190, at the other side of the cam lobe from slope surface 193, andthence onto plane surface 192. This forces the slide 93 and theassociated block 98'to the left, as viewed in Fig. 15, to carry theforming plug 47 to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 6.

After the forming plug 47 is out of the way, the barrel cam 76 moves themain slide 40 to the rear through roller (Fig. 15 When the main slide 40has moved to the rear far enough to engage the stop plate 48 against thefront wall of the slot 49, the secondary slide 41, and the plunger 44,are carried to the rear also to the positions shown in Fig. 7.

A high portion on cam thereupon rotates into engagement with roller 92,raising slide 93 and forming plug 47 back to their starting positions(Fig. 7).

The cam 96 is so formed that as soon as the slides 40 and 41 havecommenced their rearward movement, the roller 97 is forced down,carrying the yoke 94 and slide 68 down with it, and moving the forminghead 56 down to engage the arms 62 against the legs of the staple, andto bend the tips of the staple legs downwardly as shown in Fig. 8. Theportion of the legs of the staple immediately adjacent the wall of thebox are supported in the notches 64 of the anvils 57 at this time.

As the downward movement of the yoke and forming headcontinues, the endsof thearms 62 engage against the inclined portions 65 of the anvils(Fig. 10), and spread the anvils apart, as in Fig. 10, to leave thestaple unsupported, save by the box section itself.

As this is occurring, the face cam 86 will have rotated into position toengage the roller 88 to rock the sweep arm 53 clockwise (Fig. 15),downwardly, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9; and the projections 63 of thearms 62 will have moved into position to engage against the legs of thestaple, as shown in Fig. 9. The head 153 of the sweep arm then bends thepart of the staple which is projecting outside the box section; and theprojections 63 cooperating with the head 153 bend the legs of the stapleat the points where they enter the box section shown in Fig. 9.

As this is occurring the forming head 56 continues its downwardmovement; and the projections 63 thereof bend the parts 204 (Fig. 9) ofthe legs of the staple against the inside of the box section causing thepreviously bent portions 205 of the staple to project, in the caseshown. over the top edge of the box section as illustrated in Fig. 11.Meantime the head 153 of the sweep arm will have completed its downwardmovement to bend the portion 206 (Figs. 9 and 11) of the staple downagainst the outside of the box section. The head 153 and the projections63 cooperate in bending thestaple, as shown opposing jaws of a pincer.

The lobes 104a and 104b of the cam 10.4 (Figs. 15. and

21) now engage'the rollers 105 and 103, respectively, rocking the arms1&1, 102 clockwise, as viewed in Fig. 21 to cause the clincher fingers113, which are carried by arms 60, to engage the projecting ends 205 ofthe staple and to bend them over the shoulders 201 of the staple asshown in Fig. 12. The inverted triangular head 153 of the sweep armcontrols the direction of this final bend of the staple. The operationof securing the wireclip in the box'section is now complete.

The springs 167 (Fig. 21) return the arms 60 to their lower positionswhen the shaft 66 has rotated far enough for the rollers 103 and 105 toride down off the high parts of cam 104. When the shaft 66 has completeda revolution the several cams and the parts operated there? by will havereturned to their starting positions.

In a production machine, the unit herein described is preferablyduplicated, two such units being provided so that a box section may beplaced between them in order to aflix separate wire clips or fastenerssimultaneously in opposite ends of the box section. In such a machinethe two units may be mounted on a common fi'ame, and a single cam shaftmay be used for carrying the control cams of the two uni-ts, the camshaft running from one unit to the other beneath the support for the boxsection. In such case, however, the cams (such as the cams 67, 76, 90,96) of one unit are splined to the shaft, so that said one unit can bemoved toward or from the other unit in accordance with the distancebetween the ends of the box section. A handwheel-operated pinion meshingwith a rack on the movable unit may be provided to effect adjustment ofone unit toward or from the other.

Where a single unit machine, such as illustrated, is used, thebox-section may be removed manually from the unit after securing a wireclip or fastener in one end of the box section, and the box-section maythen be repositioned to fix a wire clip in the opposite end of the boxsection on a new cycle of operation of 'the machine, or a newbox-section may be fed automatically into position or may be positionedby hand, after operation on one end of a box-section is completed.

While the invention has been described in connection with a specificembodiment thereof, it will be understood that it is capable of furthermodification, and this application is intended to cover any variations,uses, or

adaptations of the invention following, in general, the

principles of the invention and including such departures from thepresent disclosure as come Within known or customary practice in the artto which the invention pertains and as may be applied to the essentialfeatures hereinbefore set forth, and as fall within the scope of theinvention or the limits of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A machine for forming and applying a wire fastener to an articlecomprising a work support, a base, a slide reciprocable rectilinearly onsaid base toward and from said work support, a plunger reciprocablerectilinearly on said slide in the direction of reciprocation of saidslide and having a die at its front end, means providing a lostmotionconnection between said plunger and said slide to cause said plunger tomove with said slide after said slide .has moved a predetermineddistance in either direction,

a block reciprocable on said slide in the direction of reciprocation ofsaid slide, a former reciprocable on said block in a direction at rightangles to the plane of reciprocation of said slide toward and from aposition of alignment with said die, means for disposing a length ofwire between said former and said die, and control means for in sequenceeffecting forward movement of said slide while said former is inalignment with said die to cause said die and former to shape saidlength of wire into a staple, for then moving said plunger forwardindependently of said slide to force said staple into the article, for

. 10 then moainsisaid former out f a ig with Said and for thenretracting said plunger and said slide.

2. A machine for forming and applying a wire fastener as claimed inclaim 1 wherein said control means comprises a plurality of cams, one.for the slide, one for the plunger, one for the block, and one of theformer, a single shaftto which all said cams are secured, and followerssecured to, said slide, plunger, and former, respectively, for engagingthe respective earns, the follower which is secured to said former,being positioned to cooperate with both the cam that controls themovement of the block and the cam that controls the movement of theformer independently of the block, and the follower, which is secured tothe plunger being positioned to be brought into engagement with itsassociated earn when the lost-motion connection between the slide andthe plunger is taken up by the forward motion of the slide.

3. A machine for forming and applying a wire fastener to an articlecomprising a work. support, a base, a slide reciprocable rectilinearlyon said base toward and from said work support, a plunger reciprocableon said slid-e in the direction of reciprocation of said slide andhaving a die at its front end, means providing a lest-motion connectionbetween said plunger and said slide to cause said plunger to move withsaid slide after said slide has moved a predetermined distance in eitherdirection, a block reciprocable. on said slide in the direction ofreciprocation of said slide, a former carried by said block in aposition of alignment withsaid die, a head reciprocable rectilinearly ina direction at right angles to the plane of movement of said slide,means for disposing a length of wire between said former and said die,and control means or in sequence effecting forward movement of saidslide to shape said length of wire between said die and former into astaple, for then moving said plunger and said block further forwardindependently of said slide to drive the staple into the article, andfor then moving said head in one direction to bend the portion of saidstaple which projects through said article at right angles to the restof said staple.

4. A machine for forming and applying a wire fastener to a sheet,comprising means for supporting the sheet in a plane, a base, a slidereciprocable rectilinearly on said base toward and away from said plane,a plunger reciprocable rectilinearly on said slide in the direction ofreciprocation of said slide and having a die at its front vend, meansproviding a lost-motion connection between said plunger and said slideto cause said plunger to move with said slide after said slide has moveda predetermined distance in either direction, a block reciprocable onsaid slide in the direction of reciprocation of said slide, a formercarried by said block in position of alignment with said die, a headreciprocable rectilinearly in a direction parallel to said plane anddisposed at the opposite side of said plane from said plunger and saidformer, two forming members carried by said head and disposed,respectively, at different distances from said plane and at differentdistances, also, from the plane of movement of said slide, means fordisposing a length of wire between said die and said former, and controlmeans for in sequence effecting forward movement of said slide to shapesaid length of Wire between said die and said former into a staple, forthen moving said plunger and said block further forward independently ofsaid slide until said former abuts against said sheet to drive thestaple into said sheet with a first part of the staple extending at oneside of said sheet and with a second part of it projecting beyond theother side of said sheet, and for then moving said head in one directionparallel to said plane to bring its forming members successively intoengagement withthe second projecting part of said staple to first bendsaid projecting part at a distance from said sheet to be parallel tosaid plane, and to then bend it again at a point contiguous to saidsheet parallel to said plane so tlliat the first bent portion extendsperpendicular to said p ane.

5. A machine as claimed in claim 4 in which said control means comprisesa rotary shaft, and a plurality of cams secured thereto, one for saidslide, one for said plunger, one for said block and one for said head,followers secured to said slide, said plunger, said block and said head,respectively, to cooperation with said cams to effect movement of theslide, plunger, block, and head in the described sequence, and means forrotating said shaft.

6. A machine as claimed in claim 5 having means for bending the firstpart of the staple parallel to said plane, and wherein said bendingmeans comprises a cam secured to said shaft, a sweep arm pivotallymounted on said base, and a follower secured to said sweep arm andengaging the last-named cam.

7. A machine as claimed in claim 7 having means also for clinching saidfirst bent portion over said first part of the staple after said firstpart of the staple has been bent parallel to said plane.

8. A machine as claimed in claim 7 having means also for clinching saidfirst bent portion over said first part of the staple after said firstpart of the staple has been bent parallel to said plane, and whereinsaid clinching means comprises a pair of arms pivotally mounted on saidbase, a follower carried by each of said arms, and a cam mounted on saidshaft and operatively engaging the last-named follower.

9. A machine as claimed in claim 4 having also means for bending thefirst part of the staple parallel to said plane.

10. A machine for forming and applying a wire fastener to a sheet,comprising means for supporting the sheet in a plane, a base, a slidereciprocable rectilinearly on said base toward and away from said plane,a plunger reciprocable rectilinearly on said slide toward and away fromsaid plane and having a die at its front end, means providing alost-motion connection between said plunger and said slide to cause saidplunger to move with said slide after said slide has moved apredetermined distance in either direction, a block reciprocable on saidslide toward and from said plane, a former reciprocable on said block ina direction parallel to said plane, means for feeding a length of wirebetween said die and said former when said former is at one limit of itsmovement on said block and is in alignment with said die, a headreciprocable rectilinearly in a direction parallel to said plane anddisposed at the opposite side of said plane from said plunger and saidformer, two forming members carried by said head and disposed,respectively, at different distances from said plane and at differentdistances, also from the plane of movement of said slide, a pair ofanvils mounted on said base at the same side of said plane as said headfor pivotal movement about axes perpendicular to said plane and adaptedto cooperate with said forming members, a sweep arm pivotally mounted onsaid base for movement about an axis parallel to said plane, a pair ofclinching arms mounted on said base for movement about axesperpendicular to said plane, and control means for effecting forwardmovement of said slide to shape said length of wire between said die andsaid former into a staple, for then moving said plunger and said blockfurther forward independently of said slide until said former abutsagainst said sheet to drive the staple into said sheet with a first partof the staple extending at one side of said sheet and with a second partof it projecting beyond said opposite side of said sheet, for retractingsaid former, for retracting said block, for retracting said slide, formoving said anvils into place to support said second part of the staple,for then moving said head in one direction parallel to said plane tobring one of said forming members into engagement with the secondprojecting part of the staple while said second projecting part issupported on said anvils to first bend said projecting part at adistance from said sheet to be par- I to bend said second projectingpart of the staple at a point contiguous to said sheet parallel to saidplane so that the first bent part extends perpendicular to said plane,for pivoting said sweep arm in one direction to bend said first part ofthe staple parallel to said plane, and for then actuating said clinchingarms to the first bent portion of said staple over said first part ofthe staple.

11. A machine as claimed in claim 10 wherein said control meanscomprises a plurality of cams, and followers cooperating therewith,there being one cam for said slide, said plunger, said block, saidformer, said anvils, said head, said sweep arm, and each of saidclinching members, respectively, and there being a follower secured tosaid slide, said plunger, said block, said former, said anvils, saidhead, said sweep arm, and each of said clinching member to engage theassociated cams, respectively, all said cams being mounted on a singlerotary shaft, and means for rotating said shaft.

12. A machine for forming and applying a wire fastener to an article,comprising a rectilinearly reciprocable slide having a groove in itsfront face to receive a length of wire, said grooves extending at rightangles to the direction of reciprocation of said slide, a relativelystationary tubular member disposed at one side of the path ofreciprocation of said slide so that its bore is in alignment with saidgroove when said slide is at the rear limit of itsreciprocatorymovement, reciprocating means for feeding wire through said bore intosaid groove, said tube having a transverse slot therein at one side ofits bore and communicating with said bore, a cut-off member secured tosaid slide in position to cooperate with the adjacent end of said tubeas said slide moves forwardly from said rear limit position to cut offthe length of wire that has been fed through said bore into said groove,a clamping member carried by said slide and positioned to extend throughsaid slot to clamp the wire in said tube and prevent retraction thereofon retraction of said feeding means, a die carried by said slide anddisposed rearwardly of the front face of said slide at said rear limitposition, a former positioned to cooperated with said die and disposedin front of said slide when said slide is at said rear limit position,means for reciprocating said feeding means for effecting feeding andretracting movements thereof, and means for reciprocating said slide tocut off a length of wire and shape it between said die and former onforward movement of said slide and to return said slide to its rearlimit position on rearward movement thereof.

13. A machine for forming and applying a wire fastener to a sheet,comprising means for supporting the sheet in a plane, a slidereciprocable rectilinearly toward and from said plane at right anglesthereto, a pair of laterally-spaced guides secured to said slide toextend in the direction of reciprocation of said slide, said guideshaving aligned grooves in their front faces to receive a length of wire,said grooves extending at right angles to the direction of reciprocationof said slide, a relatively stationary tubular member disposed so thatits bore is in alignment with said grooves at one limit of thereciprocatory movement of said slide, said tubular member having aradial slot therein, reciprocatory means for feeding wire through saidbore into said grooves, a cut-off member secured to said slide inposition to cooperate with the adjacent end of said tube as said slidemoves forwardly from said one limit position to cut off the length ofwire that has been fed through said bore into said grooves, a clampingmember carried by said slide and disposed behind said cut-oif member inposition to extend through said slot and to clamp the wire in said tubeand prevent retraction thereof when said feeding means is retractedafter a feeding operation, a plunger reciprocable in said guides in thedirection of reciprocation of said slide, said plunger having a die atits forward end, a

former positioned to cooperate with said die to form said length of wirebetween said die and former into a generally U-shaped staple, when saidslide is moved forward, means for actuating said feeding means, andmeans for reciprocating said slide to cut off a length of wire and shapeit between said die and former on forward movement of said slide and toreturn said slide to said limit position on rearward movement thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS CraigSept. 3, 1929 Berthold Sept. 29, 1931 Hile Mar. 13, 1934 Lewis Nov. 29,1938

